Red or blue? A look at Georgia’s electorate ahead of the primary

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - Once again, Georgia voters find themselves in the national political spotlight. After a Democratic sweep of two Senate seats and the presidential race in 2020, how is the political world viewing the Peach State?

“I’m not sure I want to call Georgia really red anymore,” said Mark Rom, political science professor at Georgetown University.

Rom said while he’s not viewing the state as red, there are a lot of ways November’s general elections could play out.

He said, “It’s possible Democrats could sweep. It’s possible Republicans could sweep. It’s also possible that there’s going to be a split, or we see some Republicans and some Democrats. That’s how close it’s going to be.”

According to a mid-May update from the Georgia Secretary of State, there’s a 180% increase this year in early voting compared to the 2018 Georgia primary, and 149% increase over the 2020 primary. Numbers also show Republicans out-pacing Democrats in early voting.

Savannah Viar, spokesperson for the Republican National Committee, said, “We still see [Georgia] as a red state. We operate like our back is against the wall, we fight hard, we turn out voters.”

Viar also referred to the 2020 election as a wake up call for Republican voters.

She said, “I think it was an anomaly, and overall, Georgia voters trend Republican. They want to vote Republican and will fall back into the fold this year.”

“Georgia is definitely purple,” contended James Beverly, the Democratic Georgia House Minority Leader.

Beverly also said he sees the state trending blue.

Beverly said, “Georgia picked up a million people over the last ten years. You know, 90-plus-percent of those people of color. And so are they engaged? Are they now voting or who are they voting for? What are the messages that are going around the state of Georgia this point?”

Recent polling suggests that Herschel Walker is likely to run away with the Republican Senate primary, setting up the potential head-to-head between Walker and Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.).

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